ANN ARBOR, Mich. — With a chance to set a record for the most prospects selected in a single NFL Draft, Michigan drew a big crowd of NFL coaches and evaluators to its pro day Friday afternoon.

The headliner was quarterback J.J. McCarthy, whose stock has risen steadily since he declared for the draft days after leading Michigan to a national championship. McCarthy, a top-10 pick in many projections, said his goal was to show touch on his deep passes and prove he can make all of the throws required of an NFL quarterback.

“I just wanted to showcase the questions they had about out-breakers to the left and putting some air on the deep posts, stuff like that,” McCarthy said. “I felt like I did that today. I’m pretty confident with the showing I put out there.”

Many projections have McCarthy as the fourth quarterback drafted behind USC’s Caleb Williams, North Carolina’s Drake Maye and LSU’s Jayden Daniels. McCarthy completed 67.6 percent of his passes and threw for 6,226 yards in three seasons at Michigan, including two as a starter. His 713 pass attempts were the fewest of any of the top four quarterback prospects, but his 27-1 record as a starter is a selling point in interviews with NFL teams.

“It’s about potential, traits, character — all that little stuff,” McCarthy said. “You could throw for 5,000 yards in a year, but if you have awful character and your teammates don’t like you, what’s that going to do for you? I pride myself on the intangibles and being able to be a leader.”

McCarthy said he stays away from the social media discourse, but he’s aware that he’s been climbing in the projections. He attributed that to his holistic approach to playing quarterback, including his pregame meditation routine, and the impression he’s made with teams when they meet him face to face.

“I’m a pretty unique guy when it comes to the quarterback position with the meditation and all that,” McCarthy said. “(Teams) are gravitating toward that, it seems like.”

Since declaring for the draft, McCarthy has been training in Huntington Beach, Calif., alongside several other draft prospects, including Daniels and Michael Penix Jr. Instead of wearing a number on the back of his workout shirt, McCarthy had his signature smiley face, a symbol of the mindset he’s bringing to the draft process.

“With all this added pressure that comes with being a franchise quarterback and being drafted and all that, it just brings me back to the roots of, ‘Hey, this is just a game at the end of the day,’” McCarthy said. “When you zoom out on planet Earth and look down, all this pressure that you’re feeling really isn’t there at the end of the day.”

Friday’s pro day was a reunion for members of Michigan’s national championship team, including McCarthy, running back Blake Corum, defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, wide receiver Roman Wilson and Jim Harbaugh, now the coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. Eighteen players from Michigan’s championship team were invited to the NFL Combine, putting Michigan in position to break Georgia’s record of 15 players selected in the 2022 draft.

“I felt the buzz, just for how many of our guys were there and how many of our guys were competing,” McCarthy said. “It was inevitable that there were going to be a bunch of scouts there and a bunch of coaches. This was our last time being together, and everyone wanted to enjoy it and be present.”

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(Photo: Stacy Revere / Getty Images)